(All images by Urban Ghosts)
This abandoned Second World War pillbox is among several hidden in the sand dunes of Northumberland’s Embleton Bay, and one of thousands silently guarding British beaches into the 21st century. But this isn’t the only relic of war to be found along this National Trust-administered heritage coastline.
Standing at the point where Embleton Bay meets St Mary’s Bay (Newton Haven), near the isolated fishing village of Low Newton-by-the-Sea, a quick scan of the terrain will reveal several WW2 pillboxes, a former Cold War-era LORAN station and the 14th century ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, sacked during the Wars of the Roses.
Unlike this former World War Two air raid shelter, the pillboxes were never used again after the war. Some remain amazingly intact while others have been destroyed in the name of health and safety. Meanwhile, Embleton Bay and the surrounding countryside reflects Britain’s history of warfare from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
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